The debate over gun rights

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A group of supporters for carrying unloaded handguns in public meets at a Peet's Coffee & Tea shop on Jan. 9, in San Ramon, California. Aric Crabb/Oakland Tribune/MCT/Newscom

Mitchell Paumen from Moorehead, Minn. chants pro-gun slogans in front of the Supreme Court before judges ruled that D.C.'s 32-year gun ban violates the Second Amendment, in Washington, D.C, on June 26, 2008. Zuma/Newscom/File

Sheriff's Deputy Jason Molina from the Lennox Station in South Central Los Angeles, takes rifles to a police car during a 'Gun For Gift Card' exchange event on Dec. 4. The events, which are held twice a year prior to Mothers Day and Christmas, offer a $100 gift voucher in exchange for each working rifle and handgun. Mark Ralston/AFP/Newscom

Ken Zellers poses for a portrait in his business, The Indoor Shooting Company. Though Zellers calls himself 'staunchly pro-Second Amendment,' he also welcomes open dialogue. 'The American Constitution is a great thing to debate,' Zellers said. 'That's why we're here.' Zuma/Newscom/File

Justin Giles (l.) and Niels Green are co-hosts of 'The Great Big Gun Show', a talk show in Anchorage, Alaska, that promotes the Second Amendment. The hosts characterize the show's tone as "Thomas Jefferson meets Wayne's World." Jim Lavrakas /Anchorage Daily News/SHNS/File

Josh Hendrickson is a Rogers, Minn. man who says he believes that the Second Amendment applies even at a presidential rally. He carried his loaded Glock Model 22 along with a second, smaller backup pistol, to a Sept. 12 presidential rally. David Denney/Zuma/Newscom/File

A Second Amendment supporter carries a military style AR-15 type rifle during an Obama opposition rally in Phoenix, Arizona on Aug. 17. The controversial move attracted national media attention and sparked a new debate over gun rights. Jack Kurtz/The Arizona Republic/AP

In this Nov. 7, 2008 file photo a soldier stands guard during the presentation in Mexico City of arms captured in the largest seizure of Gulf drug-cartel weapons to date, about 288 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of ammunition, numerous grenades and several .50-caliber rifles. As the State Department says firearms obtained in the U.S. account for an estimated 95 percent of Mexico's drug-related killings, US gun rights groups increasingly worry that an outbreak in violence at the Mexican border could pave the way for a raft of new gun control measures. Gregory Bull/AP/File

Gun owners rally at the Illinois State Capitol on Mar. 11, 2009 to seek legislation that would let them carry concealed weapons. Gun rights leaders say they don't have enough support to pass that measure this year. One proposal is awaiting a vote on the House floor and a second is tied up in a Senate committee. Seth Perlman/AP/File

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signs an Alaska State House Bill and four resolutions in support of gun rights on July 10, at the George C. Thomas Memorial Library in Fairbanks, Alaska. John Wagner/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner/AP/File

Demonstrators take part in a 'lie-in' protest in memory of gun violence victims, and to call on DC Mayor Adrian Fenty to reconsider his position on the 'Ensign Amendment' to the DC House Voting Rights Act of 2009 at Freedom Plaza on April 16. The amendment, sponsored by Senator John Ensign (R-NV), would repeal DC's new gun ban laws. Mandel Ngan/AFP/Newscom/File

West Palm Beach police Lt. David Bernhardt talks about the city's new Gun Bounty Reward program at a press conference Friday morning at the West Palm Beach Police Department on July 21. John Shwiner/Newscom/File

Ernie Zuberer takes a few practice shots on March 25 at a gun range located in Tampa, Florida. Zuma/Newscom/File

Kenn Blanchard of Prince George's, Maryland is a Baptist minister, a former Marine, law enforcement officer, motivational speaker and 2nd Amendment activist. Known as the 'pistol-packing-preacher,' Kenn has produced a motivational CD and was quoted in the Washington Times as saying 'Ignorance can be fatal. Knowledge is power. We must educate our people, not feed them feel-good gun-control garbage.' Zuma/Newscom/File